CHRISTMAS Day thieves broke into a Coventry pub and stole a charity jar filled with more than #2,000 collected for youngsters who have cancer.

Devastated publican Jeff Cains, aged 53, who owns the Hope and Anchor in the city centre's Whitefriars Street, condemned the intruders who stole the jar from his bar as the "lowest of the low".

His son Kevin, aged 13, was diagnosed with cancer when he was eight. He is now in remission and his father started the collection nine months ago as a way of thanking the oncology unit at Birmingham Children's Hospital for the superb treatment Kevin received there.

Single father-of-two Mr Cains said: "How low can you get?

"These people have nicked off dying children. This was my big payback for the hospital."

Cleaners at the pub arrived at about 8am on Christmas day and discovered that a window had been smashed and the four-litre water bottle, covered in stickers for the

Birmingham hospital's Teddy Bear Appeal, was missing.

The plastic container had been chained to the bar and was the only item taken during the break-in. Mr Cains, a former security guard who protected the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Archbishop of Canterbury during his career, said the crooks would have needed a metal cutter to remove it.

It was full of money, including #10, #20 and even #50 notes. Hope and Anchor patrons had rallied to support the appeal through fundraising events and parties at the pub.